My work week was eventful, if not frustrating. As I mentioned, I had a software conversion about a two and a half hour drive from home, down near Albany. The days are usually long for one of these, and it also required the team I was with to work Saturday as well. This was the last of five conversions for one ownership group. It was also their main store, so extra care had to be taken to make sure that all of the required transactions from the four branch stores properly transmitted to the main store before we could begin the proceedings of the conversion there.

The main store closed at 7pm on Wednesday. The branches all closed earlier; 5:30 or 6. Thus, all the transactions made it to the main store well before closing time. We were instructed to not start the end of day process with the old system until the conversion team (which was in Atlanta) told us to do so. I figured that was because they wanted to be sure we had all the transactions. I informed them that we had all four transmissions, and asked if I should process them or wait. Eventually, they told me to process the batches. I did so, then let them know that all was well and all four had processed successfully. This was at 6:45.

7 came and went. But, no instruction to begin the EOD procedure was given. Not totally surprising as there is a lot that has to happen for one of these things, and we usually don't start it immediately. A little after 7:30, I asked what was going on. I was told "15 more minutes". To cut this long and disappointing tale short, we were not told to start EOD until a bit after 9pm. The reason? Apparently, a third team was making multiple failed attempts to transfer the transactions from the branches via another method and were running into roadblocks. Mainly, that they were already there. These are supposed to be intelligent people, mind you. The only thing that got the ball rolling was when, in an effort to try and move things along, the leader of the main team in Atlanta got the SME (Subject Matter Expert) on the conference call. She was none too pleased, and immediately referenced the 6:45 message that all transactions were received. I believe here exact words were: "WHAT are you waiting for?"

So, at about the time we should have been done with our portion of the event, we were just getting started. Just past 11, we got done and headed to the hotel for a fitful few hours of sleep before we had to come back to finish setting things up, and train/support the store staff. We all lived. That first day post conversion was very long, however. Welcome to my world!

Monday - If you haven't seen it already, watch CNN's Apollo 11. It is a collection of archival footage shot before and during the flight, most of which I had never seen before and skillfully edited. Definitely Must See TV!

Unfortunately, I just don't have the time or space for a project like that right now. It's a shame because a - twin-cam Europa Specials go for over $30k when in decent condition, b - it's only about 30 mins away, and c - I could swing it. I still have to get my GTI fully sorted out. I would like to get a project car like that eventually though, something obscure and not super complex that I could fix up, drive for a bit, then hopefully sell for a profit.

Unfortunately, I just don't have the time or space for a project like that right now.

Sadly, that seems to be the case. When I was a college student, I had lots of time to tinker with cars (by necessity) but not enough money. Now that I am working stiff, I just don't have the time. I would love to have a Citroen CX or an Alfa Romeo Milano as a project car, if I had the space and time.

Unfortunately, I just don't have the time or space for a project like that right now. It's a shame because a - twin-cam Europa Specials go for over $30k when in decent condition, b - it's only about 30 mins away, and c - I could swing it. I still have to get my GTI fully sorted out. I would like to get a project car like that eventually though, something obscure and not super complex that I could fix up, drive for a bit, then hopefully sell for a profit.

Does it have a body kit? I don't recall any Europas looking like that. Europa Specials are, well, special.

Unfortunately, I just don't have the time or space for a project like that right now. It's a shame because a - twin-cam Europa Specials go for over $30k when in decent condition, b - it's only about 30 mins away, and c - I could swing it. I still have to get my GTI fully sorted out. I would like to get a project car like that eventually though, something obscure and not super complex that I could fix up, drive for a bit, then hopefully sell for a profit.

While it’s true that you can get that kind of money for a ’74 Lotus Twin Cam Special [like the $33k sale price of this one], you CANNOT get there from here.

This thing is too far gone--and too "out of spec"--to be anything more than a parts donor. Maybe.

Run. Run far, run fast. Or get $7,500 in cash, sprinkle gasoline on it, and set it alight. Believe me, you'll get a better ROI from that (heat and light) than from this whatzis from whoknowswhere...

Wednesday - Lawn got mowed, string-trimmed and edged, all of which it needed. Then, yesterday evening, I ran onto something rather extraordinary. For those of you who haven't read the Mueller Report, it seems as though a bunch of folks got together and made it a bit more palatable and indeed, entertaining, after a fashion. As Rod Serling would say, "Submitted for your approval..."

I'm pretty sure new cars is a surveillance tool now. I can locate my car, lock the doors, windows, how much gas I have, etc., through an app on my phone.

Which is also a surveilance tool. The best one, in fact. Cameras, a microphone, geolocation, all your passwords to any sites you access, same with login and billing info, a built in "keystroke" logger, etc.

And you carry it around wherever you go, something NO car--self-driving or not--can claim.

Everyone's surrendered their privacy rights already (thanks to "I Agree" buttons on mile-long TOSes). No sense worrying about it now...

Fascinating. I bought a POS car (new but loss leader price) when my Mercedes went down. (A Chevy Spark which the only redeeming feature in it besides the price was a Manual Transmission- i paid $10k for it brand newand bartered and got free oil changes for life from the dealer). But after a month, onstar started emailing me about the status of my car. WHAT?!? It knows my miles, if sny alerts or check engine lights come on, the air pressure of my tires, how much life i have in my oil, and ghey can unlock my doors if i am locked out. Once, my car called my while i was driving to see if i wanted better coverage. No more new cars. The Mercedes has been repaired but i will keep the POS for the city mileage and wear and tear. (34 mpg city which neats the estimate). Insurance only changed by less than $20 a month. Between the free oil changes and the city mileage, seems prudent to keep it.

Thursday - Listening to my friend's new Revel F-206s yesterday was very interesting. At their price point, there are very high performers, and though they may not quite match up with the level of detail the Magnepan 3.7is can deliver, then are MUCH easier to set up and get a good sound out of. Makes me think about opting for their big brothers, the F-208s, at some point or other.

Thing is, being an audiophile is a lot like being a car enthusiast. You can go for a lot of fun and good bang for the buck (audio: think Elac and Parasound, cars: think Miata or Mustang) or you can go utterly, totally bananas and spend more than you did on your house (audio: think Magico and Soulution, cars: think Bugatti Chiron and LaFerrari) ... and a whole lot in between!

Thing is, being an audiophile is a lot like being a car enthusiast. You can go for a lot of fun and good bang for the buck (audio: think Elac and Parasound, cars: think Miata or Mustang) or you can go utterly, totally bananas and spend more than you did on your house (audio: think Magico and Soulution, cars: think Bugatti Chiron and LaFerrari) ... and a whole lot in between!

Also need a spouse/partner that is tolerant and accepting of the habit...

Thing is, being an audiophile is a lot like being a car enthusiast. You can go for a lot of fun and good bang for the buck (audio: think Elac and Parasound, cars: think Miata or Mustang) or you can go utterly, totally bananas and spend more than you did on your house (audio: think Magico and Soulution, cars: think Bugatti Chiron and LaFerrari) ... and a whole lot in between!

We are witnessing a small renaissance in consumer interest in high quality audio playback/reproduction, but the missing element is the limited availability of brick and mortar retailers of good loudspeakers properly set up in good rooms, where consumers can listen and compare, and learn about differences. In the 1970s and 1980s there were many such retailers, extending into small cities across the country, and by the mid/late 1990s there were few, and now far fewer, most especially outside of large urban areas.

We are witnessing a small renaissance in consumer interest in high quality audio playback/reproduction, but the missing element is the limited availability of brick and mortar retailers of good loudspeakers properly set up in good rooms, where consumers can listen and compare, and learn about differences.

This is very, very true. In the 80s and 90s, there were a fair number of stores in the greater Cleveland area where I could audition different levels of audio gear, from Pioneer and Sansui to Mark Levinson and Audio Research. These days I have ONE local store with ONE guy I know (have known him over 40 years!) who knows what he's doing, and then there's Best Buy (the less said about them, the better). Interest in the high end is fading among young people and that's a shame. I seriously doubt they know what they're missing.

Also very true, and most likely so used by people who have no idea what some sound systems can do. After four decades plus of involvement in this delightful madness, I can honestly say there are still days when a new recording or piece of hardware will leave my jaw loitering around the carpet ... and that's one of many reasons why I love high-end audio.

ELAC America's Andrew Jones is a very capable, competent and knowledgeable engineer and designer of loudspeakers and loudspeaker components, all aspects, and has demonstrated firm grasp of engineering economy in his design efforts, most especially post-KEF.

This is very, very true. In the 80s and 90s, there were a fair number of stores in the greater Cleveland area where I could audition different levels of audio gear, from Pioneer and Sansui to Mark Levinson and Audio Research. These days I have ONE local store with ONE guy I know (have known him over 40 years!) who knows what he's doing, and then there's Best Buy (the less said about them, the better). Interest in the high end is fading among young people and that's a shame. I seriously doubt they know what they're missing.

Since conventional brick and mortar retail audio gear is effectively dead in most places, replaced with online/mailorder, I would like to see the emergence of catalog showrooms near major urban areas, destination stores where manufacturer's pay to have their products on display and demonstrated by resident experts, the gear set up in suitable rooms. That way the retailer does not have to floor plan a large expensive slow selling inventory. The manufacturer or distributor would pay to warehouse inventory. I think that motivated consumers would be willing to drive some longer distance to a long session at a destination store prior to finalizing purchase decisions if they had confidence that the articles of interest were available for audition, making it a worthwhile trip. Buyers might be willing to pay for added customer service, the old value-added model that briefly worked in computer sales before Dell and Gateway killed that.

I would like to see the emergence of catalog showrooms near major urban areas, destination stores where manufacturer's pay to have their products on display and demonstrated by resident experts, the gear set up in suitable rooms.

Sounds like the old brick-and-mortar model to me, or a minor variation on that theme. The question becomes whether or not there is sufficient interest in the general public to support it. Right now, I'm not certain that there is, and I'm wondering what it will take to kindle an interest in high-end stereo among the Millennials and GenZers.

Sounds like the old brick-and-mortar model to me, or a minor variation on that theme. The question becomes whether or not there is sufficient interest in the general public to support it.

From the consumer's perspective it would be very similar to brick and mortar retail, but the business model would be very different.

The general public, the retail consumers are no longer supporting brick and mortar retailers for many categories of consumer goods. They want convenience and lower prices buying online mail order, and having goods delivered to their home.

But brick and mortar retail is still very useful for some categories, such as listening to and comparing different loudspeakers in proper setup in proper room acoustics.

Times have changed, and that can no longer be viably supported with retail sales, but the manufacturer still needs that product placement to exist. So I would argue that they should pay for that directly, as an extension of marketing their products.

Also need a spouse/partner that is tolerant and accepting of the habit...

I would suggest that excellent headphones are a good place to start the journey.

The link below is a very good price on a pair of excellent open over ear headphones. I have a pair in my small collection of headphones, and can easily recommend them. I bought mine years ago in similar type of "open box" deal, got a good price relative to the market then, yet paid a little more than this. MSRP dropped on these a little by not including a Pelican military grade travel case, so discounted pricing dropped also. As with anything, opinions vary.

These are a modern attempt at re-creating the original Sennheiser HD-580 Jubilee from the mid/late 1990s. The HD-580 was first in a small family of similar headphones from Sennheiser.

First came the HD-580, then the HD-580 Jubilee limited edition which had matched drivers and much fancier trade dress.

The HD-600 soon followed and had new production methods on drivers that obviated need for matching, and also had fancier trade dress than the HD-580. The later production HD-580 (which I bought in the late 1990s) utilized the HD-600 drivers and the cheaper HD-580 trade dress. Then came the HD-650, more expensive than HD-600 and with a darker sound, recessed treble, and were not something I would recommend. Later HD-600 used the same drivers as HD-650, but different damping material between drivers and ears making the sound better, less dark.

Arguably the HD-580 Jubilee was the best of the bunch, and the headphone at the link is an attempt at recreating that sound at low price point.

While I still have my old pair of HD-580, I have not heard the newer headphones at the link.

The aforementioned Audeze LCD-X is a much better headphone than the Sennheisers, but is heavier and much more expensive.

I would suggest that excellent headphones are a good place to start the journey.

Single here, so WAF is not an issue for me (never say never).

I run a WooAudio WA6 as the amp and I rotate between a hand-me-down AKG K141, Senheiser HD-555 and Beyerdynamics cans for after hours listening.

I suffer from tinnitus, so I try to limit my headphone time to less than 2 hours a day. No point doing more damage.

My dream pair of speakers would be the Maggie 3.7i (I have a Bryston BP-16/4BSST2 combo in storage), when I have the space. For now, I make do with B&W CM speakers hooked up to an Arcam HT receiver. Had more time in college, to listen to music but if I get 2 hours on the weekend, I am more than happy.

Interest in the high end is fading among young people and that's a shame. I seriously doubt they know what they're missing.

Sadly, I don’t just think that it is limited to your field of passion and experience. Many of them from what i see (at least in California) have interests no farther than Social Media, and clubbing. And we have seen it change everything from where cars are headed, to getting out and working or even moving out of the Parents house. No hurry to get a drivers licence, and when they do, they are very disconnected from their surroundings. And gauging by the polls, they know very little about our Country’s history, and the how and why of it was formed and it has changed dramatically their perception of right and wrong. As a result, we are dumping more money into what they say are the solutions as they change course to please this new generation. Very different times with nothing wrong except what is right. It was Al Gore who once said, “everything that is up, is down, left is now right, we are in an upside down world”. Never thought that i would agree with that guy. Interesting indeed.

Might do that in the trail behind my house this weekend. The trail is about 15 miles long but we had to retreat after 30 minutes because my niece and I was mosquito food. Now have to get insect repellent.

Saturday - It's a week from Goodwood's Festival of Speed, and the other day, their website had the story of a remarkable Saudi woman – Reema Al Juffali – who is the first woman of her country to compete in motorsport (and apparently LOVING IT!). I thought the story was worth passing on.

Caught the last 5 outs and was slack jawed that both starting pitchers gave up 6 runs and were knocked out in the first inning. Lots of offense and defensive gems as well. Sounds like they got their money's worth as the game lasted four hours forty-two minutes and was the second longest game in history between the Yanks and Sox. The final score was more football then baseball at 17-13.

Caught the last 5 outs and was slack jawed that both starting pitchers gave up 6 runs and were knocked out in the first inning. Lots of offense and defensive gems as well. Sounds like they got their money's worth as the game lasted four hours forty-two minutes and was the second longest game in history between the Yanks and Sox. The final score was more football then baseball at 17-13.

I endured most all of it. It was a rollercoaster of a game for sure. The final double play to end the game was one for the highlight reels. And, as Brett Gardner said in the post game interview, even with the amazingly short centerfield wall (385’), there were no “cheap” home runs from either team. Despite the heartburn and heart palpitations I was having watching them almost cough it up, I enjoyed it. I think the Brits did too.

I endured most all of it. It was a rollercoaster of a game for sure. The final double play to end the game was one for the highlight reels. And, as Brett Gardner said in the post game interview, even with the amazingly short centerfield wall (385’), there were no “cheap” home runs from either team. Despite the heartburn and heart palpitations I was having watching them almost cough it up, I enjoyed it. I think the Brits did too.

Out on the west Coast, the big news was not about the game, but that the new Royal Couple had another incident when the new American Princess.(Megan?) tried to have a conversation with her new husband. (Harry?) and was blown off as he continued to converse with his friend. We are in Tinsel Town, after all.

Sunday - Got the usual end-of-month hangout this noon and maybe a shot at the lawn after that. Monday, though, is going to be truly interesting for one event: my first job interview in more years than I care to count!

Finally an F1 race with at least as much racing and passing as strategy. The drama stage was set when orange shirt Holland favorite Max bogged at the start dropping from P2 to P7. Leclerc had been dominant all weekend, aced the start and looked like he'd run away with it. Lewis after a 3 position drop for impeding Kimi during qually got up into podium range but gave it all back when they changed his front wing due to suspected damage that was lowering front downforce and grip while raising lap times. Vettel had a great start and got screwed by his pit crew when they didn't have his tires ready to match Lewis. They pitted later for fresh tires and he was able to run down Lewis at the end for P4.

Max had the race of his life fighting back through the field, managing tire wear, first passing Bottas and then running down and overtaking Leclerc on the second to last lap for the win. His pass is under review and while there might be a technical call of not leaving enough racing room it's the last lap and video replay shows he wasn't trying to drive Leclerc off the track. The understeer he was trying to manage carried him to the edge of the track and Leclerc turned in on him feeling he was entitled more room. It's a legitimate question but on the last lap I think the win has to stand. The marshals were right not to make the decision right away as there'd have been rioting by the delirious orange shirts if their hero had been denied.

One of the Sky announcers made a point of saying he'd wear Lederhosen if Max won the race and then kept his word in the post race interviews. Enjoyed the silliness of that. I'm a big fan of the ex F1 drivers race analysis and their pre race tech talk with Leclerc this week. The level of explanation and analysis in these broadcasts is the best it's ever been. The color announcers I'd like to duct tape to a flag pole as their constant screaming and inane comments do a disservice to the broadcast. It's the artificial injection of excitement and import every lap that I object to. Otherwise enjoying the evolution of these broadcasts.

Monday - Got my resumes and a couple writing samples printed out, and a little bit after my wife leaves for work, I'll be off to the mythic land of Elyria, Ohio and the Bendix plant there to ply my hand at gainful employment. Guess we'll see what happens...

That's frankly amazing. It took a seriously breathed-on AMG Mercedes to set my personal best ten years ago, and it's just 85 kph higher than your mark. Not bad for a "rental car." Golden Age of Performance indeed...

When I was driving in Italy, I was lucky to get the Fiat Panda to the left lane. Anytime I want to pass, downshift, pedal to the metal, 5 seconds later, check mirror and maybe I can squeeze into the left lane to pass a truck. If I'm going uphill, I don't even bother.

That pretty much ties my personal best out here on a deserted stretch of I5 (for my protection that's all i am saying. Mine was in mph (128) (which translates to 205.996 kph according to my math. I was able to hold it for a while while coming down from middle of Washington to San Diego and got paired up with some cute girl driving a 5 series BMW and stayed with her. Ended up bringing a 15 hour trip down to about 12 hours.

In my small town I am always amazed at what comes out of the wood work. There was a ZR-1 High Wing parked at the Wal-Mart on Saturday. There is a guy who has a 1968 Shelby GT 350, More than a few Vipers always show up, and there is always at least one Ferrari and one special edition Porsche. It's always really fascinating, especially since it's not the same cars over and over again (well there is some of that. The GT 350 being one of them) but there can't possibly be that many Ferraris around here, but yet there is.

In my small town I am always amazed at what comes out of the wood work. There was a ZR-1 High Wing parked at the Wal-Mart on Saturday. There is a guy who has a 1968 Shelby GT 350, More than a few Vipers always show up, and there is always at least one Ferrari and one special edition Porsche. It's always really fascinating, especially since it's not the same cars over and over again (well there is some of that. The GT 350 being one of them) but there can't possibly be that many Ferraris around here, but yet there is.

I now live nortb of San Diego in a small coastal town. It is like going back in time 40 years. It actually is pretty cool and sheltered from ths rest of the toxic environment around here. One night, i went out for pizza and waiting to cross the street i snapped this. I yelled, “is it real?” He nodded yes. When the light went green, it was confirmed. What a sweet sound.

Tuesday - Well, the interviews went well enough, and I know I could do the job. The question is, after three years of effectively full retirement, do I want to? I think having all this time to myself has spoiled me, after a fashion, and spooling back up to a intense if temporary 9-5 isn't as attractive to me as I thought it might be.

Well I have heard some arguments that people don’t buy cars on their looks, but seeing as how the Ram has surpassed the Silverado in sales for just about the first time ever I’d say the looks have a lot to do with it. Plus the Ram has a better interior and better ride, but I think the biggest problem the Silverado has is that it has to be just about the worst looking full sized pickup ever made.

In other vehicle design head scratchers, I checked out a 2015 Toyota Sequoia the other day as a Dodge Journey replacement family hauler and what the the dump is going on with that interior? It’s like they glued two separate dash boards together, the whole setup just looked dumb, no wonder they didn’t sell very many of those. Next up is a 2014 Nissan Armada.

"Well I have heard some arguments that people don’t buy cars on their looks..."

They absolutely do! Think the Mustang sold a million units within the first two years because the Falcon provided such a great platform? The current Mustang/Camaro is another great example. The Camaro outperforms the Mustang in almost all measurable performance metrics, but the Mustang easily outsells it.

"I checked out a 2015 Toyota Sequoia the other day as a Dodge Journey replacement family hauler and what the the dump is going on with that interior?"

My brother had, I believe, a 2017. For a $60k vehicle, I was surprised at how bad it was. It's arguably the worst interior I've seen in a post 2000 vehicle.

It's my Friday today. Going to be one of those HHH days too. That would be Hazy, Hot & Humid for the uninitiated. Fortunately, I can spend most of my day indoors where it's cool. The company car is in for an oil change and other standard maintenance, so unless I use the wife's car, I'm immobile. Darn...

Wednesday - Got a short (seven-mile) bike ride in yesterday (in 92°F heat!), and I'm just crazy enough that maybe I'll do another one today, though the temps are supposed to be considerably lower! Some listening might be in the mix as well.

At least they'll get some use out of the hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Abrams tanks Congress keeps ordering despite being told in no uncertain terms by the military that it doesn't want them...

No it's not. History has seen too many brutal tyrants to let that stand. But, if it's being a dictator to fix disastrous trade deals, create an environment for business and the economy to flourish, reestablish a border, and today, to give a salute to our military, then guilty as charged.

At least they'll get some use out of the hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Abrams tanks Congress keeps ordering despite being told in no uncertain terms by the military that they don't want them...

No it's not. History has seen too many brutal tyrants to let that stand. But, if it's being a dictator to fix disastrous trade deals, create an environment for business and the economy to flourish, reestablish a border, and today, to give a salute to our military, then guilty as charged.

Not that you'll see this, or that I'll see any reply, now that we've moved to a new page, but I felt compelled to, um... clarify my post a bit.

First, It was merely a quote, and not necessarily representative of my views on the matter. Mr. King is an unabashed Trump critic. Many of his tweets strike a nerve. This one clearly did. Generally, I wouldn't engage in such posts, so I'm still not sure exactly what possessed me to partake here. Moving forward, I'll stick to my usual watching from a distance approach.

Secondly, as for my stance on the whole matter, I'm a bit on the fence. At first, when it appeared like this might be a full blown N. Korean/Russian troops marching down the streets affair, I was not very happy about it. When, however, it became clearer that it would be much more low key than that, I loosened my grip, and decided to just let it play out.

I didn't watch. But, caught the news this morning. He kept it politics free, and on point. Not bad. In closing, though, if I were to be opposed to anything, it would be this: We have Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Armed Forces Day; all in place to salute and honor our military. The Fourth of July is for celebrating our country, as a whole, and those who created it. Whatever it cost to do this (And, I realize it wasn't quite the exorbitant numbers that have been floating around the interwebs.), wouldn't that money have been better spent on the very things you mention in your post? Or, on a multitude of other issues plaguing our country? Just saying.

Not that you'll see this, or that I'll see any reply, now that we've moved to a new page, but I felt compelled to, um... clarify my post a bit.

First, It was merely a quote, and not necessarily representative of my views on the matter. Mr. King is an unabashed Trump critic. Many of his tweets strike a nerve. This one clearly did. Generally, I wouldn't engage in such posts, so I'm still not sure exactly what possessed me to partake here. Moving forward, I'll stick to my usual watching from a distance approach.

Secondly, as for my stance on the whole matter, I'm a bit on the fence. At first, when it appeared like this might be a full blown N. Korean/Russian troops marching down the streets affair, I was not very happy about it. When, however, it became clearer that it would be much more low key than that, I loosened my grip, and decided to just let it play out.

I didn't watch. But, caught the news this morning. He kept it politics free, and on point. Not bad. In closing, though, if I were to be opposed to anything, it would be this: We have Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Armed Forces Day; all in place to salute and honor our military. The Fourth of July is for celebrating our country, as a whole, and those who created it. Whatever it cost to do this (And, I realize it wasn't quite the exorbitant numbers that have been floating around the interwebs.), wouldn't that money have been better spent on the very things you mention in your post? Or, on a multitude of other issues plaguing our country? Just saying.

Thank you for your open mind and candidness, Jim. It’s people in viewpoints like yours that I don’t mind having different viewpoints of. Very classy. I myself never object to the military getting recognition. His speeches were more like a history lesson about each division and was anecdotal to Where he was going. And considering the Fourth of July was indeed about the revolutionary war, it was kind of interesting and cool to me that we saw a little bit of the roots and paid tribute to where it came from. As for the expense, I thought I read that it cost the National Parks $2.5 million to host this. I thought I also read that last year the festivities (which were great on C-SPAN) costed $30 million. And the National Park Service on its 100th anniversary in the same pavilion, costed $120 million. And when you consider the nonsense that is going on in California right now i as far as providing healthcare to the illegal people coming across the border, my gasoline tax just went up six cents a gallon and my registration went up by almost 50% to fund benefits for people who did not properly wait their turn to come here (at a rate of 100,000 per month). Yet we have veterans that are homeless on the street that are local (Democrats – there are no Republicans in California) do not try to care for them It is so bad that people are getting ill just walking through the area both in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Down here in San Diego, our mayor had to resort to ordering truckloads of Porta potty‘s to place all through the streets, and are bleaching the gutters and sidewalks (against the wishes of the environmentalist) to cut the disease that is spreading throughout the city. It was traced to the homeless people riding on the trolley and everybody sat in a seat that had Fecal matter.

Wednesday - We lost a giant the other day. Lee Iacocca, of course. He's the guy who made the Mustang happen and breathed life back into Chrysler and too many other accomplishments to name. Are there many left like him, if any? I have to wonder.

Thursday - It's BACK! For whatever reason, they didn't live-stream the Members' Meeting, but the Goodwood Festival of Speed is currently LIVE on YouTube, with a fantastic array of cars, drivers, and enthusiasts!

And Happy Canada Day to you and all our neighbors to the North sir. I remember one year being on vacation with my family on this very week in Vancouver BC A couple days later we’re headed back into Washington and celebrated our own Independence. Day. My kids get quite a kick out of celebrating both in the same week.